Adult Survivors as Movement Leaders: Lessons Learned from the Just Beginnings Collaborative

Adult survivors of child sexual abuse can be our greatest leaders to find solutions for ending child sexual abuse. Those most impacted are survivors whose sexual orientations, racial/cultural and gender identities have been historically and contemporarily excluded from efforts to end sexual violence. These survivors are leading prevention innovations through storytelling to break shame and stigma, and to interrupt, end and prevent child sexual abuse through viable alternatives to the criminal justice system. Join us in this web conference as we learn what it looks like to move toward a culture of healing and survivor-centered accountability by centering survivor leadership.

OBJECTIVES:

• Identify strategies to cultivate a culture of survivor healing and leadership as a prevention strategy
• Learn why its important to center the voice and expertise of adult survivors who are LGBTQIA people of color
• Learn about adult survivors who work with other survivors and people who have committed sexual harm while centering healing and accountability
• Engage in a discussion about the possibilities and pitfalls of centering adult survivors
• Discuss key breakthroughs in the movement to end sexual violence that have come about thanks to survivor leadership

HOSTS/FACILITATORS: Ashleigh Klein-Jimenez & Tori VandeLinde, PreventConnect and CALCASA

MATERIALS:

• Web Conference PowerPoint slides PDF
• Text Chat Transcript [PDF]
• Welcome and background on the Just Beginnings Collaborative from Eb. Brown
• Web Conference summary Overview of Just Beginnings Collaborative & PreventConnect Web Conference Series [PDF]

GUESTS:

• Eb. Brown, Just Beginnings Collaborative
• Aishah Shahidah Simmons, #LoveWITHAccountability
• Amita Swadhin, Mirror Memoirs
• Sonya Shah, The Ahimsa Collective